Friday, March 17, 2006

The 20th Century begat to humanity three world wars, not two. The Cold War was actually a third world war, a long war, fought not openly between the main combatants, but between well-armed proxies of both sides. It was also fought in the shadows, with terror, psych ops, deception, diplomatic arm-twisting, economic trade and leverage, and information warfare.

Does any of this sound familiar? If it does, it is because the 21st century has bequeathed us another world war. Often referred to by the misleading misnomer, “The War on Terror(ism)”, World War Four is now upon us. Even now, our enemies are massing, gathering strength. The roots of this conflict go back not to the 19th century (when the ideological underpinnings of the Cold War were born) but much further back into antiquity—the seventh century, when Islam was unleashed on the planet. Hence, our totalitarian opponents in WW4 are much more entrenched, and formidable adversary.

And now, after a lengthy period of comparatively quiet Jihad, another Quranic dawn is unveiling in the Middle East. In the center, Palestine, is Hamas, newly elected, and empowered by hundreds of thousands of voters who have fervently endorsed the Hamas vision of “From the river to the Sea, a Palestine united and free”--that is to say, no Israel. Hamas is virtually indistinguishable from the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, a ‘banned’ Islamic group which picked up a significant number of parliamentary seats in the recent Egyptian elections. The Brotherhood is allied with Hezbollah, another Islamic group which is a political party, army, terrorist group, Iranian proxy, and state within a state, all rolled into one. Hezbollah, the ‘Party of God’, is the uncontested owner and master of southern Lebanon, providing a convenient jumping-off point to attack the hated Israelis. Hezbollah, in turn, is closely connected with Syria, who is then closely allied with Iran and Sudan. Iran is a supporter of Al Qaeda. But this massive jihadist axis does not end there.

All of it, the entire enterprise of Jihad, enjoys a network of supporters all over the Islamic World, and beyond. Such support includes Islamic ‘charities’, who provide crucial funding and money laundering, clerics and imams who provide ideological cover as well as a constant stream of new recruits, and sympathetic media coverage such as al Jazeera’s. Internet Jihadists operate in cyberspace for communications, recruiting, psych ops and propaganda. But, it still does not end there.

The Global Jihad also, in a classic and time tested strategy, works to divide the infidels from each other, thereby weakening them and preparing them for the rule of Allah’s perfect religion. By building strong trading and commercial ties with non-democratic states, or those with a historical antipathy to America—the strongest infidel power on the planet—the Global Jihad co-opts potential enemies, making them weaker while making itself stronger. It has largely done this already with Russia and China. International organizations—any UN agency, the Non Aligned Movement, the Organization for Islamic Conference, the Arab League—are all either rendered impotent, or more sinisterly, transformed into outright advocates of Islam’s cause. The EU, in its charge down the road of good intentions, is also falling into these categories.

However, the ultimate Islamic divide-and-conquer tactic is happening right within Dar al Harb itself. Leftists, socialists, ‘anti-war’ activists, and the like, have largely the same agenda as Islam—to humble and de-legitimize the west by any means fair or foul. It is an unholy alliance, as these westerners now work (wittingly or unwittingly) to carry out Islam’s agenda. These enemies within, along with Islam’s constantly waged campaign of information warfare and deception, has successfully duped most Western governments and politicians into inaction, or worse, cowed them into silence. Most Western leaders, to their everlasting shame, are either unaware or unwilling to state the threat, the naked aggression directly posed to Western society.

So, why now? Why has the Jihad resurged now?

Two trends have converged to empower Jihad and Islam in our time. Ironically, both trends were made (at least in part) possible by the Infidels themselves.

The first is demographics. Muslims, by their religion’s own dictums (such as polygamy), as well as cultural considerations, give birth to many babies. With adoption of western notions such as basic sanitation and medical care, many more of these babies are surviving until adulthood. This in turn is providing a huge influx of manpower, underemployed and idle, all indoctrinated into the eternal hatred of Jihad—ready to be used as cannon fodder for a new war. This Islamic demographic spike is compounded by the West’s declining birthrates.

The second is oil. The oil is an accident of geology, one that the Muslims themselves were wholly ignorant of until its revelation by Infidels and their technology. The Infidels provide the oil markets, and the technical expertise to pump and ship Islam’s chief and virtually only export. The wealth and demands of the west allows them to buy staggering amounts of oil, and this is now becoming a reality for the east as well (India and China’s growing economies). It is in effect a huge transfer of wealth from the infidels to Dar al Islam, amounting to trillions of dollars in the past fifty years.

What has Islam purchased with this almost incomprehensible wealth? Among other things—palaces and parties for ruling Muslim families and tyrants, favors for friends, and whatever else has struck the fancy of the jumped-up Islamic elites—oil money has bought a worldwide network of Mosques, Suraus, and Madrassahs. It is this immense and ever-growing system that educates and immerses the vast, swelling numbers of Muslim children in the ways of Jihad. In other words, they have purchased a war, primed and ready to explode. It only requires a sufficient pretext, or perhaps even none at all.

Like the Cold War, this World War has not yet seen major combat between the two sides. This may, in fact, never occur, although this optimist assumption is increasingly unlikely. As Iran’s nuclear weapons program shows, as soon as the Jihad can acquire powerful weapons for its cause, such weapons can be expected to be used, regardless of the price to Muslims themselves.

Unlike previous global conflicts, World War 4’s frontlines are everywhere. Muslims are a growing presence in all western countries, and their activities—political activism, intimidation, street demonstrations, lawsuits, terrorism, etc—are certainly a part of Jihad’s struggle. Instant communications (cell phones and internet) allow small groups of dedicated fanatics to coordinate at trans-continental distances. The internet is not only a tool in the war, it is another war zone in itself, a place for information warfare and maneuvering in the shadows.

These are but the opening years to World War IV. This is just beginning of a long struggle, a marathon, not a sprint. We may not have declared war on anyone yet—indeed, the US has not formally declared war on any nation-state since December 8, 1941. But most assuredly, Islam has declared war on us.

You have either described the opening phases of the jihadic WWIV,and forewarned those fortunate enough to accept that it is more than just a possibility that the war is already ongoing, OR, you have had a terrible attack of paranoia, and that in reality, what we see and hear everyday is exagerated, is overblown, is being exploited to divide the community, and, everything is just fine.In that optimistic scenario, there isn't a threat to Western civilisation, there isn't a predictably real truth regarding the demographical rise seen in the "guest" populations, and that afterall, their religion is just that, the same as ours!They believe in the god, they believe in parts of the Bible, they believe in Jesus, theirs is without question a religion of peace, and given time, they will immerse themselves in our society, and adopt our ways, and we shall all live happily together in a wonderful world where only peace and truth will remain.They do not really want to dominate, or take-over their host environment.Jihad is then, in this perfect future, just an anachronism that a few hotheads got involved with, and they in no way reflected the attitudes of moderate moslims.Can we take the chance that the Utopian dream of a harmonious futureis the same reality perceived by the "guests?"Is there a syndicated, even co-ordinated campaign ongoing in the exchanges between the believers and the "others?"Who is in control of whom?Can we take for granted that the mass of emigre moslims will just meld into the background as so many previous immigrants and their prodgeny?Would it be so!One of my favourite sayings is that which reminds us to know a tree by it's fuit.Taking it entirely as a botanic notion, all things that grow are pre destined in as much as they are adapted to their specific nature.This applies to the Body Politic as much as to any living plant.It's stucture is determined by the generations that have passed before.The political nature is indeed governed by the results of the experience of the generations of a society. Each shock our society feels, tips the tiller of State one way or the other, pretty much bi-laterally. Not so islam.It has not grown through a continuous flux of ideas, but has been kept strictly in isolation for Centuries. It has had periods of expansion, brought about by war-like conflict.It has sought and found fertility in the stoniest of ground.It's biological success is determined by the territorial aquistion rate of it's growth.Once established it replaces the host plant with it's own scion.Only shadows of the cultures it has infiltrated have survived.It is a patient plant in that it awaits it's ideal growth period before it commences it's replcation.It is, in the light of the Biblical/Botanical analogy, a weed.Study of the weed and it's past growth patterns will illustrate the potential future resulting from a rapid growth period.One year the lawn was well-tended, mown regulary and kept clear of unwanted competitor species of plant.Then the owner became a little older and more settled in his ways.Enjoying the pleasure of an easy life, he becomes less fond of going out in the weather to tend the grass. "It will look after itself, won't it?" he thinks.The following year he views his garden lawn and though there are a few unfamiliar growths in the lawn, all looks well through the rosy eye of his wine glass.Then after a few summers, he looks out to see, not just a few new plants, but a writhing mass of unidentifiable invaders.The lawn is choked and the weeds have taken hold completely.Now he must decide if the weeds are to continue because he has passed caring, or putting down his glass, pulls on his boots and raincoat and goes out into the wind to do what the gardener must do?Where are we now?Is it a bad dream that the wine has left us with?Are we to listen to those that tell us "not to worry, it will all die back of it's own accord? They are quite pretty plants sometimes."Or must we bend our backs to the task ahead?It all reminds me of the last "phony war" except that no-one has declared it.I apologise for these gardening rambles, but here,it is still exceptionally cold for Springtime and gardening is uninviting at the moment,.. see,.. thats the problem.